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Q: How long have you lived in Greenwich?

A: Since 1938.

Q: How do you think Greenwich has changed over the years?

A: It's changed, but not for the better. When we were kids we'd walk down Greenwich Avenue and have a soda in the drugstore or listen to the jukebox. Kids would sit on the wall before the church, and across the street was Greenwich Library where we would hang out and no one ever threw us out of the place. And there was Woolworths where I bought my first lipstick.

A: Three children, Carl and the twins, Ronald and Rona. Five granddaughters and one grandson.

Q: Are you retired?

A: Yes.

Q: What did you do when you worked full time?

A: I worked 30 years as a swimming instructor, 15 years with the YWCA and 15 for the town of Greenwich. I taught enjoyment of the water. I would teach children to swim and when they grew up I'd have them assist me and then teach their own classes. Teaching the men from the Retired Men's Association was the most fun -- those old devils. They'd say, laughing, `I can't swim...I've got to hold your hand.' I also worked 18 years at Macy's in Stamford at the deli.

Q: What was the most important thing you learned in your work?

A: Patience. Absolute patience.

Q: What was a significant memory or defining moment in your childhood?

A: I first saw my husband-to-be when I had just turned 12 years old and I was with my father when he was getting gas at a gas station. Carl was 20 years old and asked who I was and was told my father wouldn't like that. But he did talk to me and he said, `When you grow up, I'm going to marry you.' When he came home from the war in 1945, I started seeing him when I was 17 and he was 25.

Q: What are your main hobbies and interests?

A: I play Pinochle every day.

Q: Do you have a favorite sport?

A: Swimming. I was a good softball player and I did play basketball, and field hockey.

Q: Do you have a favorite book?

A: "To Kill a Mockingbird," and I love English detective stories, I watch Inspector Morse on TV. I loved seeing "Jane Eyre," and "Pride and Prejudice."

Q: Do you have a favorite work of art?

A: I have a copy of John Sargent's painting of the older women at the beach. One of them looks just like my mother-in-law.

Q: What music do you listen to and what is a favorite piece of music?

A: I like Chopin. I got to see Rachmaninoff. He was a huge man. When he sat at the piano, his arms hit the ground. He played with such passion -- and he scowled the whole time. I got to see Marlon Brando on Broadway in "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Q: If you could tell the president of the United States one thing, what would it be?

A: Try to be like Lincoln.

Q: What achievements in your life are you most proud of?

A: My children.

Q: If you had a magic wand, what would you wish for?

A: For my husband to be here with me. I have a friend of 92 who I go out to dinner with but he's not my husband.

Q: What, if anything, are you deeply concerned about?

A: For the future of my children and my grandchildren. We lived through the depression, my mother and I, after my father committed suicide, but we were able to handle it. There are ups and downs in life.

Q: Best piece of advice to give to the younger generation?

A: I always said the work ethic is important. Put yourself into your work ethic. Think positively.